US Department of Justice brings down crypto ransomware group “Hive”, blocked over $130 million ransoms

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been attempting to break into Hive’s network since July 2022.
• The United States conducted the operation in cooperation from German and Dutch law enforcement.
• CFTC Commissioner is looking to establish new crypto laws and provide the agency with higher authority over the space.

The crypto space is no stranger to hacks and ransomware attacks as the anonymity that the blockchain technology offers masks the criminals easily. However, while to date, attempts to fix the crime have been made, it seems like this time, the United States has managed to stop the crime before it could occur.

US DoJ against crypto criminals

The United States Department of Justice, in a press release on Thursday, announced that it had managed to penetrate the computer networks of the ransomware group “Hive”.

In doing so, the DoJ captured the decryption keys and offered them to victims around the world, preventing them from paying about $130 million in ransom.

The operation, which started in July last year, has managed to produce 300 decryption keys for the Hive victims under attack and another 1000 decryption keys for other previous victims.

The DoJ announced that the operation was conducted in coordination with German law enforcement and the Netherlands National High Tech Crime Unit. Adding to the same, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated,

“...the Justice Department will spare no resource to identify and bring to justice, anyone, anywhere, who targets the United States with a ransomware attack. We will continue to work both to prevent these attacks and to provide support to victims who have been targeted. And together with our international partners, we will continue to disrupt the criminal networks that deploy these attacks.”

A decrease in cybercrime activities is necessary for the crypto space to evolve, as eliminating threats builds trust in the space.

As it is, the yearly revenue generated from ransomware attacks dropped by more than 40.3% last year in comparison to 2021. Claiming an increase in awareness and proficiency of law enforcement enabled this drawdown in revenue.

CFTC wants to take the responsibility

As reported by FXStreet earlier this week, the Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Kristin Johnson, is looking to increase the agency’s oversight of the crypto market. At the same time, Johnson is also looking to establish new cryptocurrency rules under the purview of CFTC. She added,

“Motify order to fulfill our customer protection, market integrity, and market stability mandate, the commission should have the authority to engage in an appropriate level of due diligence.”